Report: Googlers Not Getting Holiday Gifts This Year

By
PC Mag ME TeamDec. 12, 2016, 4 p.m.

Alphabet used the money it would have spent on gifts for employees on those who need it more.

Google is known for offering its employees sweet perks like massages, onsite cooking classes, fitness centers, the ability to bring their dogs to work, and lavish holiday gifts. But Sadly, Google employees aren't getting a cool new toy for the holidays this year. Because parent company Alphabet used the money it would have spent on gifts for employees on those who presumably need it more.

Fortune reports that Alphabet donated $30 million worth of gadgets — including Chromebooks, phones, and other tech — to schools on its employees' behalf in lieu of holiday gifts. That's a huge departure from years past, when Google "surprised its 70,000 employees with Nexus phones, Android smartwatches, and Chromebooks" around the holidays, Fortune notes.

This year, "employees speculated they might get Google's new Pixel phones or a Google Home unit." Instead, they reportedly got an email informing them of the donation. Womp womp.

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Fortune surmises that "Alphabet likely would have spent around the same amount of money on its holiday gifts, so it's not exactly a cost-saving move." The report notes that "the decision signals a shift in culture for the company." Perhaps the days of over-the-top employee benefits are coming to an end, or at least cooling off.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for a job with amazing perks, there's no shortage of options in the tech sector: Valve Software offers free massages on Fridays, Gravity Payments has a $70,000 minimum wage, and Airbnb offers employees who travel an extra $2,000 stipend a year.